The Grey Area
by Melon Soup
Summary: An original inspired by many. I guess its supposed to be a reflection of what goes on behind the horrific stories we see in the media. The stories behind the stories. I don't know if it works all that well. Open to criticism.
1. Chapter 1

Her Happy Ever After

She picked up the large frame of the photograph and sighed as she looked deep into the picture as she had done so many times before. The two people smiling at her, their faces so washed with happiness that they looked almost ridiculous. She barely recognised her own face aglow with radiance that was partially from the wedding make-up and partially from her own ecstasy. She stood up and peered into a dusty mirror on the hall wall. Her eyes were drawn and dark and her skin dull from the stresses of being a young working class adult. She had never been beautiful, granted, but she flinched now to see herself looking so tired.

Her eyes drew away and back to the picture in her hands. Why he had chosen her she would never know. He got so much attention from the opposite sex and it was easy to see why. His perfectly chiselled face was so handsome but without looking fake and his piercing blue eyes were a window to his lively, outgoing personality. He was such a contrast to her and yet, here they were five months after the glorious day she held in her hands. Even on the wedding day she could hardly believe that he would stay with her. She had never had someone love her in her life, let alone the popular, Mr Right type.

Keira climbed back onto the bed. She could scarcely make out the number on the clock in the dark but she knew it was late. Outside the usual gangs were fighting again. It would not be long before the police turned up. She sat leaning up against the old bedstead and waited. He would be home soon.

The dark apartment was not what she would call her ideal home but she was grateful to have a roof over her head. The three rooms were mostly cream and the ceilings yellow from her husband's smoking habit. The bedroom, where she sat now, was littered with his clothes of which he took pride in. A few times, when they had first moved in, she had tried to clean up and he had just complained that he hadn't been able to find anything. She had long given that up now and so the floor was covered in jeans and t-shirts both dirty and clean. She got out her book from beneath the bed and began to read. Many people would claim that the stories she read were to take her away from her drab lifestyle, but she was always adamant that she had always loved reading and that she was perfectly content with the way she lived.

It was gone 3 o'clock by the time the apartment door clicked open and Lawrence staggered in. Drunk as usual, he left the door open and collapsed on the bed. Keira, got up pushed the door closed and started untying his trainers. As she undressed him he tried to pull her down on top of him. His masculine arms wrapped around her and his face lurched toward hers. She kissed him reluctantly. He forced her onto the bed and roughly grabbed at her breasts. The stench of alcohol and smoke was almost too much. His hand slipped under her nighty and touched her thigh. She pulled away. He was too pissed to complain and just lay there as she finished taking off his clothes until he lay in his boxers. Then, she crept into bed and lay next to him as he mumbled something about how much he loved her and how she didn't show her love to him. He put his arm heavily around her and pressed his face into the back of her neck. As his breath deepened and slowed she pushed the disappointment of his intoxicated state away and recited the familiar words in her head.

_This may not look like a fairy tale to some but I have my happy ever after and I'm lucky. _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Memories and Reality

It was early when Keira opened her eyes. The spring sunlight penetrated the small window opposite her bed and gently warmed her. She didn't move for a minute, embracing what would quite possibly be the only moment of her day that possessed any serenity. Her blank mind, before the first thoughts flooded it, was one of her favourite times of the day. She liked the nothingness and the alien nature of having nothing to think about and no emotions. It made her feel light and free and reminded her that there were simplicities in life as well as the complications. Lawrence lay next to her, still snoring softly as she slipped out of the covers and went to shower in the bathroom.

The icy water slipped over her slender frame and refreshed her delicate skin. Every morning the same cold shower awoke her and she was used to it. There wasn't enough hot water for two and she was quite happy to be invigorated first thing in the morning. Besides, even if she didn't enjoy the experience she would never complain. Her father's words were imprinted in her mind.

_Don't be making a fuss if there's nothing to make a fuss about. If you can't fix something yourself then there's no point imposing on others to do so for you. Better fix it without affecting others or carry on regardless. None of these tears. Tears have no purpose in the world and without purpose things are pointless. _

She had been told so many times, from when she had grazed her knee as a toddler to failing her exams in school. Other people would see it as unusual, if they noticed at all, but for Keira it was as if she had grown into his words and made them natural to her. With her father long dead, she took pride in living as he would have wanted and honouring his advice.

She washed the shampoo from her brown, shoulder length hair and wrapped a towel around her, shivering. In the bedroom she could hear Lawrence waking. She put on her work clothes and went to greet him.

"Good morning Honey." His voice still sent a pleasant shiver down her spine as it had done when they first met.

"Thank you for looking after me last night. I was a bit drunk." He giggled before clutching his head as he became conscious of the hangover lingering from the effects of the night before. Keira recognised the appreciation she had been given but brushed it off as always.

"I'll make breakfast before I go. What would you like?"

"Bacon omelette? You're an angel. What would I do without you?" He kissed her on the cheek and tucked a piece of damp hair behind her ear lovingly.

Keira busied herself with making breakfast as she did everyday, making sure it was absolutely perfect before presenting it on the tray next to a glass of orange juice and two aspirin tablets. She left it on the table and went to look for a pair of elusive shoes which seemed to be doing a good job of hiding amongst the clutter. As she re-entered the bedroom Lawrence was pulling at his blonde hair, trying to get it to stick into shape. When he saw her he pulled her into an embrace and kissed her gently.

"Um, I, I haven't got time, have you seen my…" He pushed a pair of black shoes into her hand and broke into a cheesy grin.

"Have a nice day, I'll see you later," He kissed her again before she rushed out the door.

The café was busy as usual. Keira was soon absorbed with the work to be done. She liked it that way. Taking orders was all she knew and was all she ever would know. She had no real occupational aspirations in life like the driven business women seen on television and the London streets. She was content with a life that many people would do anything to get out of, because she accepted it and strived to look for the good in it.

Lunch break. The other girls headed outside for a cigarette. Keira didn't go with them. Someone had to look after the kitchen; after all it was lunch time in a café. Like so many people that had drifted in and out of her life she had never really bonded with them. It reminded her of her school days and the friends she never quite had. She couldn't say that she got bullied as such, it was just that no-one ever took any interest in her. She concluded that she was no fun and that it was better just to keep to her self. That's what she had done ever since. Even the odd boyfriend had only been a failed attempt to find someone who understood her. They never stuck around long enough. Like most teenage boys they were just looking for a "good time", something which she was not prepared to offer to someone who she didn't trust. Lawrence was her first and only because he was prepared to find out who she was.

She had met him in the café 3 years ago. He asked for her number every day when he came in and every day she refused. Every day for the best part of a year she refused until he asked her why. She couldn't produce a reasonable, understandable answer so he demanded for a chance. One date. And on that night she fell for him.

It was one of those perfect nights that you see in romantic films. She had thought to herself at the time how corny it all was and how she had never thought that finding a true love would ever be as perfect as that night. He had taken her out to dinner in a beautiful restaurant where she had eaten the most elegant meal and then they shared their first kiss by the river in the park. That kiss had been the single moment in her life when she believed she could give everything she had to someone and trust them with it. Other kisses throughout her past had been nice but, that night, their kiss connected them. He had been such a gentleman as well. He hadn't tried anything else on that night and she was grateful for it. She wanted to lose her virginity with grace.

The night that it happened was one of her favourite memories. It had been cold and foggy and they had had trouble getting to her small apartment let alone to the cinema where they were headed. They were laughing as they climbed the stairs and by the time she opened the front door she was submerged in that warm contentment she always felt in his presence. He followed her inside as always, but, where he usually politely waited in the kitchenette he followed her to her bedroom and sat down on the bed. She looked at him.

"Maybe, tonight, we could…"

She remembered the flutter she had from that. So many thoughts. Whether to say yes, whether to say no. What it would be like. Was she ready? What if he wasn't the right man.

"Yes," It was such a simple conclusion to a huge bundle of thoughts. He smiled.

"Are you sure?" Keira nodded. She was a little apprehensive of what she was doing but she knew it was right.

He laid her down next to him and kissed her lips gently. His tongue sliding over hers in a harmony that could not be replicated. His hands moved to her shirt and he started to undo the buttons. Her mouth was dry with anticipation. A moment of panic was whisked away by his fingers caressing her neck and he continued to peel away her clothing. He took off his top and jeans and lay down in his boxers. She touched his chest and back feeling every inch of his torso. He placed one hand on her face and ran the other up her thigh and over her hips up to her back. With the upmost ease her bra fell from her chest and he pulled her close, in an embrace. She slid off his boxers a little cautiously and he did the same to her knickers. She kissed his shoulders, light delicate kisses that ran all the way up his neck. He rolled on top on her and looked directly into her eyes as he pushed deep into her. She gasped. It hurt so much but the pain was blurred by the intenseness. She gripped his shoulder blades and wrapped herself around him. The closeness. She was so close to him. Their hands danced across each other, the beauty of the movement of his skin on hers. She felt wanted. She felt loved.


End file.
